Manu Bennett

It seemed like it was just yesterday that there was some doubt that Manu Bennett would ever return to Arrowand reprise his very popular turn as the villain/anti-hero Deathstroke, AKA: Slade Wilson. Deathstroke, and Bennett’s portrayal of him, was one of the big keys to Arrow’s success in its first two seasons, peak villainy that was unsurpassed as the show dabbled in lesser big bads like Ra’s al Ghul and Damien Darhk in seasons three and four respectively. So when Deathstroke returned in the season five finale, it was like a breath of fresh air, and it seems like a breath than the fans, and Bennett himself, seem to want to hold on to. (more…)

Roger Corman is back at it, bringing one of his fan favorites Death Race 2000 to a new generation of movie buffs who love bad films. Seriously, if you can’t leave everything behind and just get into it, don’t bother clicking through to watch the Death Race 2050 Red Band Trailer because it can only be the wackiest, goofiest, most fun and gory thing you’ve watched in a long time. Sci-fi fan favorites Manu Bennett (Spartacus, Arrow) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) headline this zany cross-country road trip. (more…)

Death Race 2000 is one of those films that still holds up almost 35 years later. It was silly and wondrously preposterous in 1975 and still is today. As a child, this NerdBastard couldn’t get enough Death Race 2000 when it came on television on Saturday afternoons, minus the for television edited bits of nudity and adult stuff. Much later in life, watching the uncut version that starred David Carradine as Frankenstein and Sylvester Stallone as Machine Gun Joe, the movie still had that otherworldly quality of trashy cinema that has captivated this lifelong nerd. The 2008 remake set in a prison was fun, but didn’t even come close to the originals impact. Those that followed were best soon forgotten. Especially now that word is out that legendary director Roger Corman is stepping in to produce the reboot along with updating of the title, Death Race 2050. (more…)

MTV used their NYCC15 platform to release a new trailer during their panel on the upcoming adaptation of Terry Brook‘s Shannara fantasy series titled The Shannara Chronicles. The panel included show runners . Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, author Terry Brooks, as well as cast members Manu Bennett, Poppy Drayton, Austin Butler, and John Rhys-Davies. You can check out the entire panel which begins with the new trailer below. (more…)

Word is trickling in that fan favorite Manu Bennett (Arrow, Spartacus, The Hobbit) was arrested over the weekend on a misdemeanor assault charge while in San Antonio for Alamo City Comic Con. Police haven’t released any details besides the charges and it is unclear exactly where the incident happened. (more…)

It was easy to be cautious when approaching this week’s episode of Arrowcalled “The Return.” It was a double, if not triple, return with Oliver returning to Lian Yu accompanied by Thea, with Slade Wilson returning to haunt the Queens some more, and, with the flashback, Oliver returning to Starling for the first time since he was shipwrecked. It’s was a minefield of potential letdowns and Easter eggs, a potential contortion of narrative so it would become contrived, and that’s just the flashback. In the present we have to deal with the potential letdown of Slade’s return, since Manu Bennett owned in the role last year and this season’s big bad in the form of Matt Noble‘s Ra’s al Ghul has yet to match up. So how did it all shake out? (more…)

There may still be hope for MTV‘s new fantasy series Shannara after all. As the casting of the series continues, fan favorite Manu Bennett has joined the cast in a pivotal role. He’s been on our nerdy radar since he first popped up in Xena, Warrior Princess as Marc Anthony. Since that role he’s been a gladiator, a fearsome Tolkien albino troll, and a chemically enhanced berserker that hates a particular favorite Bowman of ours. What fantasy role will he playing this time? (more…)

We pause in the midst of the 24 hour break between portions of The Flash/Arrow crossover to talk spoilers about the immediate future of the Emerald Archer of Starling City. (Incidentally, you can read the Nerd Bastards review of “Flash Vs Arrow” here if you so choose.) Now Arrow and his cohorts have a lot of problems on their plate at the moment, from the return of Malcolm Merlyn, to the death of Black Canary, to the pending arrival of Ra’s al Ghul, but it seems that the Arrow writers room has one more potentially deadly twist up their sleeve for Oliver Queen and his rascally crew of do-gooders; a blast from the past that will by no means be a welcome surprise for anyone on Team Arrow. Potential spoilers below. (more…)

Let’s be honest, last night’s episode of Arrow was about as near perfect an episode as they’ve had yet. And this season, as I’ve mentioned over and over, is already a vast improvement over its first. “Deathstroke” is the icing on the cake (which is saying something considering there’s still four more episodes to go). It’s thrilling, tense, and keeps you guessing at where its heading the whole time; an impressive achievement for the often heavy handed show. (more…)

These rumors have been circulating for a little while but today Entertainment Weekly has the confirmation, Manu Bennett has been cast as Slade Wilson and will be appearing in upcoming episodes of the CW’s Arrow. I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads thinking, “Huh? Haven’t we already seen Slade? I mean, anyone who’s up on their DC history knows Slade Wilson is also Deathstroke, and we’ve already seen that guy.” Right you are, we have indeed seen Deathstroke. Hell, he tortured poor Oliver Queen during his time on the island. But as usual, those close to the production are keeping their mouths shut on whether or not it’ll be Slade when Deathstroke removes his mask.

Personally, I’m calling their bluff. Of course, it’ll be Slade. They’ve been able to hold off on officially casting the role because he’s been in a mask. You don’t cast such a physically imposing figure as Manu Bennett for Slade Wilson then have him turn out to not be Deathstroke. Come on. By now I’m hoping you recognize Bennett. He’s made a big impression, on everyone, as Crixus on Starz’s Spartacus, plus he was the white orc, Azog the Defiler, in The Hobbit. To see him as Deathstroke is going to be like the character jumping right off the page.

Bennett is only another in long string a great casting grabs for Arrow. They’ve already nabbed two Who stars with John Barrowman and now Alex Kingston, and there was the great stint as The Huntress from Jessica de Gouw. Next week Fringe‘s Seth Gabel is appearing as their updated spin on Count Vertigo. Honestly, a lot of the time I feel their guest stars and minor roles outshine the main cast.

Contributors

Buy Our Shirts

A news and entertainment blog for nerd pop culture. We are vulgar, debaucherous, and funny bastards that pilfer the internet (or interwebz, if you like) for the news you need so that you don't have to. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll often shake your fist in an angry fury but your time here is worth the price of admission (which is free for those of you not paying attention)